Floyd Mayweather Asks IRS For Tax Reprieve Ahead Of Conor McGregor Fight

Floyd Mayweather claims he can’t pay off his 2015 tax liability until after he wins money from his upcoming fight against Conor McGregor.

Floyd Mayweather Conor McGregor fight

The 40-year-old retired boxer filed a petition to the IRS on July 5 asking for a reprieve until the bout, which is set for Aug. 26 at Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena. The petition asks the government to reduce Mayweather’s penalty on the unpaid taxes.The failure-to-pay penalty is typically 0.5 percent of the owed taxes for each month, according to the IRS website. Mayweather is 15 months behind on his tax payments. Therefore, the boxer would be paying a 7.5 percent penalty. 

“Although the taxpayer has substantial assets, those assets are restricted and primarily illiquid,” the petition said, according to the legal website Law360. “The taxpayer has a significant liquidity event scheduled in about 60 days from which he intends to pay the balance of the 2015 tax liability due and outstanding.”

It remains unknown exactly how much money Mayweather owes, although the IRS had previously purported that the former boxer had the resources to pay it immediately, even if it meant selling property or taking out a loan.

Mayweather earned $220 million from his fight with Manny Pacquiao on May 2, 2015. On Monday, Mayweather shared on Instagram a picture of a $100 million check — his guaranteed purse from the match — that did not have taxes deducted from it. Sources confirmed at the time that the check was real.

The boxer is predicted to win a similar amount from his fight against McGregor.

In the aforementioned Instagram post, Mayweather revealed that he payed $26 million in taxes in 2015 and asked, “What else could they possibly want.”

Mayweather has earned approximately $700 million in his 49-fight professional career, according to a Forbes magazine estimate.

Forbes also estimated Mayweather’s net worth as of January to be around $340 million.

Caption:LAS VEGAS, NV – SEPTEMBER 12: Andre Berto (L) and Floyd Mayweather Jr. battle in the 11th round of their WBC/WBA welterweight title fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 12, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayweather retained his titles with a unanimous-decision victory. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)